Charleston Boundary Dispute Lawyers and Charleston Title Attorneys

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Title & Boundary Dispute Law in South Carolina

There are times when neighbors will find themselves in a situation where how they've been using their land doesn't match up with the property boundaries that are on record. This can be a source of substantial conflict, as one might expect.

Ideally, the neighbors could just dismiss the situation, and go on as they had before, effectively agreeing to change the property lines to reflect their past use. This doesn't always happen, however. Additionally, such a course of action is not free of issues, and could eventually result in ownership of the land legally changing to reflect the past use, even if one of the neighbors opposes this.

Nonetheless, it's more common for the neighbor whose land is being encroached upon by the other neighbor to seek enforcement of the legal property lines. The other neighbor will almost certainly want to use the property as he had been, since enforcing the legal property lines would cause him to lose some of "his" land.

People in Charleston, South Carolina should also be aware of the possibility of title (ownership) disputes. Unlike the boundary disputes considered above, the outcome of a title dispute can decide who owns an entire parcel of real property. Confusion over who actually owns a piece of property is more common that some people might imagine. Many local property records are still kept on paper, are not very well-organized, and sometimes date back a hundred years or more. A lost or misfiled deed is the most common way for a title dispute to arise. However, sometimes fraud on the part of a seller can lead to title disputes. Unscrupulous individuals will sometimes try to sell the same piece of land to more than one person. And some people even try to sell property they don't own, occasionally succeeding (and this isn't just limited to bridges in London). Typically, once the buyers discover they've been duped, the "seller" is nowhere to be found, leaving them to figure out who owns the land they all thought they had purchased.

Possible Outcomes of Boundary and Title Disputes in Charleston, South Carolina

One customary resolution for boundary disputes is a court re-drawing the boundaries to fit with what the assumptions that the neighbors were operating under before the error was discovered. This typically happens when both parties were, for many years, aware of the actual property boundaries, and did nothing about it. Moreover, if the neighbor who has been encroaching onto the other neighbor's land has made costly improvements thereto, this weighs in favor of that neighbor, since changing the property lines would impose significant hardship on that neighbor.

Of course, there are plethora of reasons why a court might determine to enforce the property lines as the records indicate. If one neighbor knew about the discrepancy, and hid it from the other neighbor (presumably because the neighbor with the knowledge of the discrepancy benefited from it), a court will, of course, not reward this kind of dishonesty, and will decide against that neighbor. On the other hand, if the neighbor whose land would be expanded by enforcing the "real" property boundaries knew this fact, and took no action for many years, a court will probably not be receptive if he or she suddenly tries to enforce them. This is referred to as "sitting on one's rights," and courts will not reward this, either. If you have a legal right, you're expected to make efforts to vindicate it as soon as possible. If you don't, a court will typically say "I guess it wasn't that important to you if you waited 10 years to bring this to our attention. Next case."

In Charleston, South Carolina courts have many options when it comes to resolving title disputes. However, these disputes are usually controlled by some fairly complicated (and old) legal principles. While they're usually built around policies that most people would find to be quite fair and reasonable, their application can be nearly impenetrable, even for some lawyers.

Without going into too much detail, the individual who recorded their deed initially will be the one who takes ownership, provided he or she did not know (or had no reason to know) of the existence of the other deed.

What Can A Charleston, South Carolina Attorney Do?

Real property disputes frequently involve very old legal principles that can even confound lawyers who aren't experts in real estate law. For that reason, you should almost always hire an expert Charleston, South Carolina real estate attorney, who will assist you navigate these murky legal waters.

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Life in Charleston

Charleston, South Carolina is an important port city located in Charleston County. It is nicknamed the "Holy City" due to the large number of churches that mark the city's skyline. As a port city, trade is central to the city, as a number of ships and boats launch regularly from Charleston.

Charleston is unique among cities that showcase a Southern culture. In general, Charleston's community culture is a rich blend of French, English, West African, and southern American elements. Particularly, the "Charleston dialect" is a rare dialect featuring distinct phrases and is not comparable to other dialects in the Southern U.S.

Charleston, South Carolina draws many visitors every year when it holds its annual Spoleto Festival USA. The Spoleto Festival is an art festival lasting 17 days and featuring more than 100 performances by artists practicing in different disciplines. The event is an internationally recognized festival and is considered to be the premier performing arts festival of the U.S. Other notable Charleston attractions include live music at the Music Farm, and the Citadel a famous military college. Many Charleston lawyers studied at Charleston School of Law.

Lawyers in Charleston, South Carolina are available to assist persons who may have differing legal needs. Charleston is the first city in the United States to institute a "Livability Court", which is a municipal court that focuses on legal cases involving housing, animal control, tourism, traffic, the environment, waste, and compliance with city zoning codes.

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